A plan change is a change to a district plan, a process provided for under the Resource Management Act 1991. A plan change can be initiated by Council or by members of the public (a private plan change).

The Plimmerton Farm Proposed Plan Change is a Council initiated plan change to rezone the existing 384ha Plimmerton Farm site from Rural under the Porirua District Plan to a new Special Purpose Zone, the “Plimmerton Farm Zone”.

A precinct plan will be used to guide development and land use. The plan change will include a set of objectives, policies and rules that will manage development and activities.

While final plans for the site will be shaped through consultation with the community, initial designs propose a variety of housing choices, a retirement village and a network of open space and recreation areas, walkways and cycleways.

The Porirua Growth Strategy 2048 was adopted by Council in March 2019 and is a guiding framework for our city that’s intended to shape and influence ‘why’ and ‘where’ the city will physically develop over the next 30 years and beyond.

It identifies the big issues we’re facing now and in the future and takes a principles-based approach to dealing with those issues. A copy of the Porirua Growth Strategy 2048 can be found here:

The Streamlined Plan Change process (SPP) is an alternative plan-making process introduced into the Resource Management Act (RMA) in 2017.

The SPP enables a local authority to request a plan making process to suit the planning issues involved. Before a SPP can be used, key criteria must be met and an application approved by the Minister for the Environment.

If approved the Minister makes a direction on the timeframes and steps required to be followed for the plan change.

While the SPP would allow a plan change to be progressed faster than the standard process it is not a ‘rubber-stamping’ exercise. It requires robust consideration of the proposal and a detailed assessment of environmental effects along with measures to avoid, remedy and mitigate effects.

Community and stakeholder engagement is still provided for, through submissions and a hearing before commissioners, in a similar way to the standard RMA plan process. The key differences are that:

The commissioners make a recommendation to the Minister; and,

The Minister makes the decision (which could be to decline the application); and

There are no appeal rights for any parties including Council and the landowner.

More information on the SPP can be found on the Ministry for the Environment website here:

The SPP will enable the rezoning of Plimmerton Farm to provide additional housing capacity much faster than under the conventional RMA approval process.

We believe that the rezoning of Plimmerton Farm meets the key criteria under the RMA - including giving effect to national direction and responding to a significant community need. This requires confirmation by the Minister for the Environment before the streamlined planning process is undertaken.

Council will be engaging on a draft District Plan in September this year before a full proposed District Plan is notified in March 2020.

The Plimmerton Farm Proposed Plan Change will be developed to align with the draft District Plan. Our teams are working closely together to ensure the two documents align.

The Plimmerton Farm Proposed Plan Change will reflect the new layers of protection proposed to be introduced as part of the District Plan Review, including Significant Natural Areas, Special Amenity Landscapes and Natural Hazard Areas as well as providing for Medium Density Housing. Eventually it will form part of the new District Plan.

The site’s location and elevation of approximately 200m mean it is visible from key public viewpoints in Plimmerton and it currently forms the eastern rural backdrop to the town. The topography provides for good views from the site across to the coast and to the west afternoon sun.

A number of measures are being considered to ensure landscape values are respected:

Plenty of allowance for growth of trees between buildings.

Buildings located and orientated to maximize passive solar heating gains and minimize exposure to prevailing winds.

Structures built at the top of a hillside should be low in profile and stepped back from the steep hillside area.

Buildings on higher elevations of the site should have darker, sympathetic colours.

Retain existing trees and vegetation as feasible.

Houses below ridge-lines, profiled to follow existing landform.

Roading design appropriate to the terrain and respecting the elevation.

Natural drainage patterns to be respected to the extent feasible.

The amount of impervious surfaces should be minimized per lot.

Retaining walls could be utilized to reduce the total amount of grading provided.

Cluster development and infrastructure to minimize the need for grading on elevated portions of the site.

On higher ground surrounding open space will be managed in an integrated manner through a variety of mechanisms such as reserves, covenants or collective management.

Flexibility and allowances for irregular size and shape of lots in order to maximize the amount of steep hillsides that will be preserved.

Development to respect significant natural areas and significant wetlands.

The site is very large and although much of it is likely to be retired as open space, there is a significant opportunity to accommodate a variety of land uses to build a varied and integrated community.

A diverse range of housing choice could be delivered through the allocation of precincts within the site, marked for certain housing types and densities.

This will include a variety of housing types ranging from terraced houses, duplexes and townhouses located on smaller section sizes close to the community facilities and public transport links, through to standard residential development, retirement living and larger areas lots for lifestyle living.

Consistent with the Principles of the Growth Strategy, terrace housing and townhouse style development will be encouraged in areas of the site that are close to existing public transport and proposed transport nodes and public open space.

Providing for a range of housing densities, including higher densities in certain locations, is recognised in the Growth Strategy as being important to achieving a compact and liveable city (Principle 3 in the Growth Strategy).

Location, proximity to community facilities and transport options, as well as topography of the site will all influence the density of development.

Parts of the site are located close to the Plimmerton Railway Station, meaning that medium density housing is more suitable in these areas.

Current options being assessed:

Density distribution relative to proximity to commercial and recreational amenities and public transport.

Density distribution relative to topography, other natural site attributes, and future open space

Development of an open space strategy that includes ownership and maintenance of areas unsuitable for development

Provide public access through open spaces as a means to provide a connected and accessible community.

Taupō Swamp is identified by Greater
Wellington Regional Council as a wetland with outstanding
indigenous biodiversity values. Unless
designed and implemented appropriately, land development is a potential threat
to the swamp through changes to the hydrology and increased sediment
load.

Taupō Swamp is identified by Greater Wellington Regional Council as an ‘Outstanding Natural Feature’. Unless designed and implemented appropriately, land development is a potential threat to the swamp through changes to the hydrology and increased sediment load.

The following measures are considered necessary to ensure development of the site can occur in a sustainable manner:

Delivering best practice urban design, water sensitive design, and broader community outcomes as part of stormwater management delivery

An open space strategy is also proposed that respects existing stream corridors and overland flow paths, recognises and enhances significant natural areas, integrates built form with the land form and provides a land ownership model which provides for the sustainable long-term management of open spaces.

Stormwater management is a key issue for the development of Plimmerton Farm.

A range of mitigation measures will be considered in suitable locations taking into account site constraints.

A team of stormwater engineers and ecologists are working on the best solutions for the site.

Where practicable, retention and treatment of stormwater will be undertaken at or close to the source. Possible stormwater measures have been prepared and form part of the information we are seeking feedback on.

These include:

Use of private rainwater tanks to retain and detain roof runoff at source. (Capture and re-use may also provide resilience for water supply.)

Communal tanks to retain and detain runoff as part of higher density developments.

Under the Plimmerton Farm Proposed Plan change a precinct
plan will be used to guide development and land use. The plan change will
include objectives, policies and rules to manage development and activities.
Provisions will be applied to each of the identified precincts to ensure the
desired outcomes are achieved.

If the Proposed Plimmerton Farm Change is approved, then the
site will be rezoned to the ‘Plimmerton Farm Zone’ under the Operative Porirua
City District Plan. The Proposed Plan Change establishes the planning framework
(rules) for residential development of the site and some associated commercial
activities.

Before development can occur resource consents will be
required from both Porirua City Council and the Greater Wellington Regional
Council.

The topography of the site is varied and is characterised by
rolling hills and gullies. Earthworks will be required for infrastructure,
roading, cutting and filling to provide house platforms. While the site’s
natural character will be altered by development, measures will be adopted to
reduce the effects including:

Restricting batter gradients and requiring
planting of batter slopes

Integrating bulk earthworks design with
subdivision layout to ensure the proposed finished contours can be assessed as
they related to proposed subdivision boundaries. If the majority of earthworks
(including the creating of building platforms) take place in the bulk
earthworks phases, this will limit necessity to undertake secondary earthworks
on the site at the building consent stage.

Water Sensitive Design (‘WSD’) applies a set of principles
to land development to protect and enhance natural ecosystems. A WSD approach
takes into account multiple objectives including environment, community, urban
design and landscape amenity.

WSD principles that are proposed to be included in the draft
Plimmerton Farm Precinct Plan include:

The Taupō
Swamp is one of Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Key Native Ecosystems.
Stormwater management has therefore been a significant element in the
development of Plimmerton Farm. A team of stormwater engineers, ecologists,
urban designers, planners and landscape architects have worked to develop
solutions to ensure the Taupo Swamp is protected.